Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Rising above the mode of goodness

Our actions are determined by the modes of nature which we
acquire. Those who are in the modes of goodness are positive in their life and
believe doing things righteously. Those in passion often try to achieve things
by any means. Those in ignorance are too lethargic to even think about
themselves.

Persons in the mode of passion and ignorance do not have
concept of who is God and who should be the object of their worship. Srila
Prabhupada explains that during World War 2, a man in Kolkata worshipped Hitler
because he was able to amass huge wealth because of the war. These people
propagate that one can worship anyone, eat anything and do anything because all
path leads to same destination. However scriptures abhor this mindset. Srimad
Bhagavatam (4.3.23) states that those in pure goodness worship only Krishna, sattvam
visuddham vasudeva – sabditam: “When a man is situated in pure goodness, he
worships Vasudeva.”

We should try to rise from the mode of ignorance -> to
mode of passion -> to mode of goodness. We cultivate a particular mode
depending on with whom we associate. For e.g. if we associate with a sadist
then we too will become hard - hearted gradually whereas if we associate with
devotees who enthusiastically practice Krishna consciousness then soon we will
imbibe those qualities.

When Srila Prabhupada went to west then he infused
spirituality in the lives of the western youths. The young western devotees got
so much enthused by Srila Prabhupada’s godly qualities that they immediately started
practicing devotional life with great eagerness. So we should always try to associate
with those who are leading meaningful lives and are sincere seekers of divine
love. This will help us to rise even beyond the mode of goodness and thus we
would develop love for God. Spiritual association is the best way to achieve salvation.